After Palestinian assailants entered a West Bank settlement and stabbed five members of an Israeli family to death, he wrote that 'terror has a religion and it is Islam.'

Yair Netanyahu, the eldest of the prime minister's two sons, is currently a soldier in the Israeli military's media liaison unit.

But a lawyer for the Netanyahu family, David Shimron, defended teh soldier, insisting in a statement that the comments were those of a 'teenager' and were 'taken out of context in an attempt to defame the prime minister and his family.'

In another comment, he wrote that there had never been a Palestinian state and that he hoped 'there would never be one.'

Earlier this month, NBC launched its coverage of the final round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship with a generally patriotic video montage

Interspersed with this patriotic footage was video of children in a classroom reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Talk about creative! Juxtaposing the innocence of children’s voices speaking the words of the pledge against the dramatic and intentional act of raising the colors with military precision, wordlessly communicated the message, “Our military protects us and keeps us safe.”

There was only one glitch, evident to every golf lover tuned in June 18, as well as the millions of folks who have since watched the video on the Internet. The audio of the pledge - repeated during the 100-second video - was edited twice to exclude the words “under God” and “indivisible,” and on the second pass, to also exclude “one nation.”

Three hours into the event’s coverage, commentator Dan Hicks, perhaps revealing the volume of calls that deluged NBC’s telephone operators, interjected into his golf riff, “It was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being held in our nation’s capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone, and we’d like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it.”

Plenty of Americans were offended. As Dan Gainor, vice president of business and culture at the Media Research Center notes, “NBC has unquestionably committed an act of religious bigotry. … Removing ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance … was absolutely not accidental. It was brazenly deliberate. NBC’s pathetic apology did nothing but compound the offense by refusing to admit what they had done.”

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

"Imagine if the police knew exactly what you do online: All the porn sites you scan secretly, the vitriolic comments you leave on blogs, the number of hours you spend playing Farmville.

In Denmark, police have recommended to Parliament that it create laws that make it impossible for citizens to surf anonymously. According to Danish-language blog Computerworld Denmark, the proposal is intended to help investigate terrorism.

In the proposal, locations providing open Internet, like cafes and libraries, would have to confirm a user's identity, with some form of official ID, before letting them get online. Companies may also have to register and verify users' identities before providing access, as well as retain records of user logs.

Danish law already requires that ISPs store user data for at least a year, as an anti-terrorism measure. The proposal suggests that with such information, police would be able to see who exactly is on the network, where they go, and who they talk to.

Such a move would have serious privacy implications. But another problematic facet of the proposal is in the nature of online identity itself. 4Chan founder Christopher Poole recently defended web anonymity against those, including Facebook, who believe real-world identity and web identity should be one.

"Anonymity is authenticity," said Poole. "It allows you to share in an unvarnished, unfiltered, raw and real way. We believe in content over creator."

Rep. Todd Akin Refuses to Apologize for Saying: ‘At the Heart of Liberalism…Is a Hatred For God’‏

Given the abuse and obstruction Christians get from Leftists, this is a pretty reasonable conclusion:

Earlier this month, in a radio interview, Missouri congressman and GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin said the following: "Well, I think NBC has a long record of being very liberal and at the heart of liberalism really is a hatred for God and a belief that government should replace God. And so they’ve had a long history of not being at all favorable toward many of things that have been such a blessing to our country.

Liberals have since demanded an apology, with ThinkProgress (TP) publishing its own rebuttal to the politician’s statements. According to TP, Akin does not plan on backtracking on his statements:

Akin’s communications director, Steve Taylor, told the [St. Louis Post-Dispatch] that Akin was commenting on a difference between the two ideas: while conservatives believe rights come from God, liberals think they come from the government. Taylor said Akin was not referring to any individual’s beliefs, only the “defining principles of two political ideologies.”

And it is decayed "mainstream" churches (such as the Episcopalians) who have lost the faith (as set out in the Bible) who favor Democrat policies. Such churches are just social clubs masquerading as Christians. Ask Episcopalian clergy such as Bishop Spong the simple question: "Do you believe in God?" and you will rarely get a straight answer. You will hear that God is "the ground of our being" or some other such mumbo jumbo.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Given this recent story about an inner city school in NYC, I would be surprised if any teacher there felt differently. But it is obviously a mistake to be honest about such feelings.

An arbitrator upheld the firing of a veteran Brooklyn teacher over a sarcastic Facebook post suggesting she'd be glad if her students drowned. Christine Rubino posted the comment on June 23, 2010, the day after a 12-year-old Harlem girl, Nicole Suriel, drowned on a Long Island school trip.

"After today, I'm thinking the beach sounds like a wonderful idea for my 5th graders. I HATE THEIR GUTS! They are all the devils spawn!" fumed the 38-year-old teacher at PS 203 in Flatlands.

Rubino insisted her insensitive comments were harmless, made in anger over misbehavior by her pupils. She also argued the postings were private and protected by freedom of speech. But arbitrator Randi Lowitt found Rubino guilty of conduct unbecoming a teacher.

James Paterson writes from Australia's Institute for Public Affairs with news that Andrew Bolt, Australia's most prominent conservative columnist, is currently being prosecuted under appallingly restrictive racial tolerance laws. Mark Steyn recorded this special message for an event held by the IPA in Australia to defend free speech.

Andrew Bolt comments: "Of all that was said on the night and sent, Mark Steyn's contribution was the one that brought down the house. I confess to being in awe of it -- not just because I appreciate the compliment of having it come from probably the most brilliant columnist in the English-speaking world, but because it's such a tremendous piece of writing.

Monday, June 27, 2011

It is not an offence to abuse British police: Officers told not to arrest people who scream obscenities because courts won't convict

We read:

"Police have been banned from arresting foul-mouthed yobs who abuse them with the most offensive swear words in the language. The rule change, which has sparked a revolt in the force and anger among MPs, is revealed in secret advice issued to officers and leaked to The Mail on Sunday.

Scotland Yard has issued a card to its officers, telling them to do nothing if they are subjected to a torrent of obscene abuse.

The card, which the police are told to keep on them, secreted behind their warrant badges, says: ‘The courts do not accept police officers are caused harassment, alarm or distress by words such as ‘f**k, c**t, b*****ks, w*****s’.

The guidance has been issued despite existing laws that sanction the fining of people who swear at police and the jailing of persistent offenders.

Officers have the power to arrest yobs who swear at them, either by quoting the Public Order Act – which prohibits the ‘use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour’ – or as a breach of the peace under Common Law.

But the new guidance, issued to officers in London by the Civil Actions Unit of the Metropolitan Police, states that a prosecution for swearing will be lost without ‘compelling evidence of a person within sight or hearing likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress’. It adds that this is ‘very unlikely to be you [the police officer]’.

Scotland Yard says the advice was issued because compensation had recently been paid out to ‘victims’ who had been ‘falsely’ arrested for swearing.

"Would you buy a license plate with a Confederate flag on it? State officials are looking at possibly launching a new Texas state license plate honoring veterans of the War Between the States.

Mr. Hilary Shelton, with the NAACP in Washington, D.C., said that the Civil War may not be something we want to celebrate. "When many look at that history, we think about it in terms of secession, that is we were seceding from the Union in the southern parts of the country," explained Shelton.

"Many would view that, quite frankly, as treason, because they meant to actually destroy the existing governmental structure. But when we dig deeper, the issue becomes even more offensive to many African Americans and those that sought freedom for those of darker skin in our country."

But the Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans have renewed their push for a Texas license plate that includes the rebel flag in its design.

Thomas Muhammed founded an organization to recover reparations for slavery. Still, he would not oppose the license plates. "I don't see how a flag hurts someone, as long as the people displaying these license plates are not killing people physically who are of African descent." Muhammed said.

Currently, nine states already allow the license plates. A statement in a recent newsletter from the Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said, "…the Florida Division, the eleventh state, has just filed a lawsuit against the DOT there after their request was denied. I am confident their case will prevail, because legal precedents are in place. I am hopeful that the Texas DOT also realizes this as they consider our application."

The state board that regulates license plates has rejected Confederate flag license plates before, but the issue is set to come up again at an upcoming meeting that has not yet been scheduled.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Judge intervenes to let tea party hand out Constitution

The Left have long hated the restrictions that the constitution imposes on them -- giving rise to Woodrow Wilson's unfounded proclamation that the constitution is a "living" document: Meaning that the Left can ignore bits it thinks to be out of date. The constitution IS changeable -- but only by a vote of the people.

Just in time for the Independence Day holiday, a judge in California has intervened to allow members of the tea party there to hand out copies of the U.S. Constitution, which had been banished by a local library board decision.

The news of the battle comes from Brad Dacus, of Pacific Justice Institute, who has been fighting officials in Redding, Calif., since earlier this year on behalf of tea party groups who want to give out copies of America's founding document.

"As a matter of policy, they said they could not pass out the Constitution … We're talking about outside the library in the breezeway, where people have passed things out before. [Library officials] saw this group, a tea party group, passing out the Constitution and specifically amended their policy to make it more restrictive," he told WND.

A judge in Shasta County Superior Court now, however, has granted a preliminary injunction against the library, clearing the way for a distribution when tea party members choose, Dacus said.

"Of all places, the library should be encouraging the free flow of information, especially when it promotes patriotism, the Constitution, and good citizenship," said PJI affiliate attorney Timothy Pappas. "The evidence shows that the tea party members have acted sensibly and politely, that their educational activities occur away from the quiet reading rooms of the library, and their presence has not created any kind of disturbance."

He said the fight was ironic on two levels: the first that libraries generally are seen as spreading information, not censoring it, and the second that the Constitution probably "is the most accepted and revered document in our country, as well as the most uncontroversial."

"After much controversy, Apple has decided to pull its “3rd intifada” iPhone application as it “violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people.”

Reportedly, the 3rd intifada app provided users with information about when and where violent anti-Israel rallies and activities would take place.

Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein sent a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday, imploring him to remove the app from circulation. Once its removal was confirmed,Jpost reported that Edelstein praised the company for doing so:

The computer giant Apple’s decision to remove an application from its online store called “3rd intifada” is an additional step in “preventing hostile elements – which are frequently tainted by anti-Semitism – from spreading incitement via the new media,”

Saturday, June 25, 2011

NY: Atheists protest “Heaven” sign honoring 9/11 victims

Atheists making themselves obnoxious again:

A group of New York City atheists is demanding that the city remove a street sign honoring seven firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because they say the sign violates the separation of church and state.

The street, “Seven in Heaven Way,” was officially dedicated last weekend in Brooklyn outside the firehouse where the firefighters once served. The ceremony was attended by dozens of firefighters, city leaders and widows of the fallen men.

“There should be no signage or displays of religious nature in the public domain,” said Ken Bronstein, president of New York City Atheists. “It’s really insulting to us.” Bronstein told Fox News Radio that his organization was especially concerned with the use of the word “heaven.” “We’ve concluded as atheists there is no heaven and there’s no hell,” he said.

I don't think this would fly in the USA. Calling someone a Jew or Jewish is not illegal. At most in the USA he might be charged with disorderly behavior or some such

A French prosecutor wants the fashion designer John Galliano to pay 10,000 euros ($14,350) in damages to people at whom he allegedly hurled anti-Semitic abuse in a drunken outburst that has wrecked a towering career.

Galliano, an enfant terrible of fashion with a huge celebrity following, told the court in Paris he had been so out of control on drink and drugs that he could not recall hurling insults at strangers in a bar in recent months.

The judge also read phrases he allegedly uttered in a February 24 incident in Paris including "dirty Jewish face," "f****** Asian b****** I will kill you," and "f****** ugly Jewish b****."

Asked whether he remembered the insults, Galliano said: "I don't remember very well ... I have no recollection," adding: "I have a triple addiction. Alcohol, sleeping pills and Valium."

Friday, June 24, 2011

Geert Wilders cleared by Dutch court of inciting hatred

We read:

"Right-wing politician Geert Wilders was today cleared by a Dutch court of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims. The court in Amsterdam ruled that Mr Wilders' anti-Islam statements, while offensive to many Muslims, fell within the bounds of legitimate political debate.

Presiding judge Marcel van Oosten said the politician's claims that Islam was violent by nature and his calls to halt Muslim immigration and ban the Koran must be seen in a wider context over immigration policy. He also ruled that Mr Wilders' public statement could not be directly linked to increased discrimination against Dutch Muslims.

Mr Wilders did not react as the verdict was read out, but supporters in the public gallery hugged one another and clapped after his acquittal.

One of the most powerful and popular politicians in the Netherlands, Mr Wilders was accused of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims through numerous public statements and with insulting them by comparing Islam with Nazism.

He said outside court: 'I'm incredibly happy with this acquittal on all counts. 'It's not only an acquittal for me, but a victory for freedom of expression in the Netherlands. 'Fortunately, you're allowed to discuss Islam in public debate and you're not muzzled in public debate.

The court found that Mr Wilders' rhetoric was 'on the edge of what is legally permissible', but not illegal. In speeches, written articles and a short film that incited riots around the Muslim world, Mr Wilders said Islam is an inherently violent religion, and he compared the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf

Mr Wilders argued that his statements represented the views of millions of Dutch voters, that they were protected by freedom of speech law and that the court was biased against him. He also claimed the charges were politically-motivated

Most Australian internet users will have their web access censored next month after the country's two largest internet providers agreed to voluntarily block more than 500 websites from view.

Telstra and Optus confirmed they would block access to a list of child abuse websites provided by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and more compiled by unnamed international organisations from mid-year.

The voluntary scheme was originally proposed by the Federal Government last year as part of a wider, $9.8 million scheme to encourage internet service providers to block all Refused Classification material from users as an optional service.

The Government dropped its funding for the scheme last month due to "limited interest" from the industry, but a spokesman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said a basic voluntary filter was still on track to be introduced by Telstra, Optus and two small ISPs.

Perhaps the most interesting question is whether the list of banned sites will be released publicly. An early version of the list was leaked and found to have some completely innocent sites listed on it. Wide open to abuse if it is not published in full.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Britain: Must not mention that blacks are hard to see in a dim light

We read:

"Chris Evans has been accused of racism after telling a black scientist he could not see her in a dim BBC studio. The presenter told Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a highly respected space expert and government adviser: ‘I can barely see you, to be honest.’

The remark came after he mistakenly said she was Caribbean when she is of Nigerian descent.

The Corporation received 56 complaints from viewers who interpreted his comments as a racist joke. One angrily condemned the words as ‘proper foot-in-mouth’.

Evans’s comment was made early in The One Show last Friday during a discussion about a week of ‘space spectating’ which had included a lunar eclipse.

Dr Aderin-Pocock, sitting next to singer Tom Jones on the studio sofa, was asked if there were more to come.

She replied: ‘There’s plenty out there to see, unfortunately not tonight.’

Mr Evans then said: ‘It’s terrible tonight, I can barely see you, to be honest.’

You can't make this stuff up. Do I need to mention whom her wishes align her with? You won't be surprised that she made her career with the ABC, Australia's main public broadcaster. And, needless to say, she pays zero attention to any of the science concerned. In effect she just says "Heil Klima" while her right arm edges upwards. In other words, she accepts the Warmist faith without question ("Klima" is the German word for climate)

Jill Singer

While Tony Abbott has previously lent support to schemes including an emissions trading scheme and a carbon tax, you wouldn't know it today. The only real scheme he and supporters are currently backing is political interference.

It's a dangerous game they're playing with our future, but you've got to hand it to them, they're ruddy good at it.

Cate Blanchett pops up her head to support a carbon tax and Abbott's band of climate sceptics quickly lops it off because she's richer than most.

But when Gina Rinehart pops hers up, Australia's richest woman is touted as some kind of working-class hero.

Then there's David Murray, chair of Australia's $71 billion Future Fund and recipient of a $28 million golden parachute from his time running the Commonwealth Bank. Murray states there's no link between global warming and carbon dioxide emissions because carbon dioxide is necessary for life, colourless and odourless - and therefore can't be considered a pollutant. It's a popularly held view.

Andy Semple of the Menzies Institute claims it's "refreshing" for someone with Murray's standing to take on the global warming "scam" by expressing such views.

Really? I'm prepared to keep an open mind and propose another stunt for climate sceptics - put your strong views to the test by exposing yourselves to high concentrations of either carbon dioxide or some other colourless, odourless gas - say, carbon monoxide.

You wouldn't see or smell anything. Nor would your anti-science nonsense be heard of again. How very refreshing.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

I reproduce below the whole of a news report from an English-language news site in Sweden. The "local youths" are of course Muslims -- but you are not supposed to mention that in Sweden

The police station in Malmö district Rosengård, in the south of Sweden, was fired upon early Saturday morning. "At 4:29 a.m. police on location alerted us about the gunshots," Hanna Berndtsson, Skåne police information officer, told the TT news agency.

No one was physically injured by the shooting. "There were police officers on the second floor of the building, but the shots were fired towards the first floor, so there were no injuries."

Security at the police station has now been tightened, and a forensic investigation squad is on location to find out what happened.

Thus far the forensic investigation has revealed that live ammunition was used in the shooting, and therefore an attempted murder probe has been initiated, according to the Malmö police force. At this moment the police have no information about the type of weapon used, or the reason for the shooting. "We don't know the origins of all this yet," said Hanna Berndtsson.

Rosengård, centrally located in Malmö, is an area commonly associated with social difficulties, and has been the place of several riots and clashes between local youths and authorities in recent years.

My WSB colleague and guru, the Talkmaster Neal Boortz, created a bit of controversy this past week over comments he made about shooting thugs in Atlanta.

The controversy actually blew up because of Ed Schultz at MSNBC who claimed Boortz was advocating the murder of urban youths in Atlanta.

There’s just one problem here. In both the screen shot and the accompanying audio, Ed Schultz doctored Neal Boortz’s quote. See, Boortz said those things, but in the middle there was this bit:

"You need to get a permit to carry that gun. And you do in fact need to carry that gun and we need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta. We need to see the next guy that tries to carjack you shot dead right where he stands. We need more dead thugs in this city."

The full quote is below the fold. But this is the relevant portion for purposes of Ed Schultz’s monologue and it is clearly references self-defense, not wanton murder of thugs.

This was a wholly dishonest editing of Boortz’s quote and his context, without even using ellipses in the on-screen text, to accuse Boortz of advocating murder instead of self defense.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

"Outdoor advertising giant APN has refused to display two posters on government-owned buses for Ten's new prime-time TV show Can of Worms.

The posters that were rejected are based on questions that will be put to guest panellists on Ian "Dicko" Dickson's new show, due to air next month. The two questions that were rejected were: "Is it wrong to tell your kids there is no God?" and "Is it wrong to dress up as Hitler for a fancy dress party?".

Can of Worms producer Anita Jacoby told Media she was shocked the campaign had been rejected by APN Outdoor. "The marketing campaign has taken some of our fodder for the show and used it as a device to capture people's attention," said Ms Jacoby, who is Andrew Denton's partner in the production company Zapruder's Other Films. "We've put the key questions out there to provoke some conversation.

"I can't for the life of me see what's so controversial about putting out a question like: 'Is it OK to tell your kids there is no God?' "I mean, isn't that what we talk about around the dinner table every night? For one politically correct person within an organisation -- who is fearful of government -- to say we can't talk about these things is wrong."

Earlier this month, another outdoor advertising company, Adshel, was forced to back down on a decision to ban billboards on bus shelters in Brisbane promoting safe sex and the use of condoms. Adshel had been targeted by the Australian Christian Lobby, but the Can of Worms marketing campaign was rejected even before a single complaint from the public.

"Megan Fox didn't quit the latest Transformers film to pursue other acting opportunities. She was fired because she upset Steven Spielberg.

The 25-year-old actress was dumped and replaced by Victoria Secrets model Rosie Huntingdon-Whitley after she compared the film's director, Michael Bay, to Hitler in a magazine interview.

The comparison angered Spielberg, who is executive producer of the Transformers series and deadly serious when it comes to Nazis.

Bay revealed for the first time he was told to get rid of Fox. "You know the Hitler thing. Steven (Spielberg) said, fire her right now," he said ahead of the premiere of Transformers 3.

Bay said he wasn't hurt by the Hitler comment. However, Spielberg is known to be sensitive when it comes to Nazis. After his experience directing Schindler's List, he founded the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which furthers the remembrance of the Holocaust of World War II.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Must not criticize racism on Facebook?

Australians have a contemptuous term for their native blacks that it similar in impact to the American N-word. The term is "boong" (pronounced as in "book"). Under American influence the N-word is also sometimes used, though the High Court of Australia ruled a few years ago that the word is not offensive in Australia.

Australian blacks (Aborigines) do of course dislike having either term applied to them. They traditionally call themselves "blackfellas".

An Aboriginal singer wrote a song protesting against use of both the N-word and the B-word but in the song he mentioned the words concerned. Even that use of the word was however deemed offensive by Facebook:

An Aboriginal rapper has had a victory in his campaign against racism, after a backlash from fans forced Facebook to "unblock" his controversial video.

Colin Darcy, AKA Caper, who also works as a field officer for South Australian Native Title Services, posted How Would You Like To Be Me only for the video to be deemed too offensive by the social networking site.

Containing the words "boong" and "nigga" - terms directed at Mr Darcy, 30, for many years - the song was aimed at fighting racism with an honest narrative, which many may find confronting.

But strong support from users prompted Facebook to reverse its decision and "unblock" the video.

The song eventuated after Mr Darcy was the victim of racist slurs at a local pizza bar, where his only reaction was to put his anger and frustration into rhymes.

Victory for free speech as husband is cleared of using internet to harass wife's lover

Man arrested by British "anti-terrorism" police for Twitter posts which just gave information about another British man

A cuckolded husband who used Twitter to tell 'most of the country' about his wife's affair with her married millionaire boss was cleared of harassment yesterday. Ian Puddick, 41, wept with relief and claimed a 'victory for free speech' after the decision.

The plumbing company boss had been accused of mounting a smear campaign to take revenge on his love rival, City insurance broker Timothy Haynes, by broadcasting on a host of social networking websites 'graphic' details about the 'deceitful' ten-year affair.

But yesterday District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe dismissed the charges in a landmark verdict that could help define the limits of free expression on the internet.

In court, Mr Puddick said he had been the victim of an 'abuse of power' which had led to a 'corrupt' police investigation costing taxpayers £1million.

He accused Mr Haynes's former employer Guy Carpenter Ltd, one of the world's largest financial companies, of getting private security firm Kroll to 'pull in favours' to have him arrested by City of London counter-terrorism police after another force had rejected Mr Haynes's complaints of harassment. 'There has been an abuse of power,' he said.

'As I said to the judge, if this can happen to me – and I'm not the kind of guy to get raided by anti-terror cops – then it can happen to anyone.'

Saturday, June 18, 2011

High School Tells Valedictorian He Can‘t Say How ’God Had Changed His Life’

We read:

"Kyle Gearwar, the valedictorian of Fair Haven Union High School in Fair Haven, Vermont, says that he was told by school officials that he couldn’t include specific information about how God has changed his life in his commencement address.

Gearwar told the crowd during his ceremony last Friday that he was only allowed to deliver half of the speech he had wanted to. The Burlington Free Press has more:

“It is a fine line here. Here’s freedom of speech and here’s separation of church and state,” Fair Haven Union High School principal Brett Blanchard said. “The line is generally the difference between proselytizing and personalizing.”

Gearwar was allowed to mention God and Jesus in the accepted portion of his speech, Blanchard noted, but he said public schools have to be careful about allowing someone to preach their religion at a school-sanctioned event.

Gearwar claims that he isn’t interested in setting off a firestorm or engaging in the infamous church versus state debate. The former student said he had simply hoped his words would help others. According to the Free Press, he told the audience:

“I have always dreamed of speaking about God in front of my school as the valedictorian,” he said in his speech. “This was the message God gave to me, and I am not allowed to share it with you even though it is my testimony, the most important change my life has ever experienced, and the one thing that I stand for no matter what.”

Since the incident, the entire text of the speech has been published by The Rutland Herald.

"At a congressional hearing on Muslim radicalization in U.S. prisons, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said that investigators needed to analyze Christian militants in America because they too might try to “bring down the country.”

In an exchange with witness Patrick Dunleavy, the former deputy inspector of the criminal intelligence unit, New York Department of Correctional Services, Rep. Jackson Lee mentioned the case of a man who blew up an abortion clinic and proposed that this perhaps was an attempt to undermine U.S. law that allows a woman to procure an abortion.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Must not joke about homosexuals

The fact that blacks are known for negative attitudes towards homosexuals probably counted against him:

I've always liked Tracy Morgan, and his comedy has never been described as politically correct. However, the 30 Rock actor may have gone too far this time with a rant that can only be described as homophobic. In this rant, which was part of his comedy routine, Morgan asserted that he would "stab" his children if they were gay, among other rhetoric that is being described as hate speech.

Though he apologized, calling himself an "equal opportunity jokester" who "clearly went too far and was not funny in any context," Morgan is still gathering heat -- even from his fellow 30 Rock actors."

"The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that state ethics rules that bar public officials from voting on matters because of a conflict of interest do not violate free-speech rights.

In a decision that highlighted the nation's history of preventing officials from participating because of personal conflicts, the justices reversed a Nevada Supreme Court decision that said voting in council meetings or other legislative arenas was protected by the First Amendment."

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The latest censorship proposal reeks of desperation

We read:

"Bill Clinton -- the examplar of truth in modern America -- has proposed the establishment of a government 'ministry of truth' -- to be run by either the United States government or the United Nations -- that would supervise the content of the Internet, requiring individuals and websites to conform to agency factual standards. ...

Apart from the obvious 1st Amendment/fascist/1984 Orwellian/marketplace of ideas implications of such an offering -- a discussion which, I trust, needs no explication on this website -- I am partially encouraged by Clinton’s suggestion.

It demonstrates just how desperately and feverishly the political Establishment must go in futilely trying to resist its own demise."

"A host on the Fox Business network—criticized last month for suggesting President Obama was "chugging 40's" during his trip to Europe—is facing allegations of racism after referring to the White House as the "Hizzouse," "Hizzy" and "The Big Crib," and guests of the administration as "hoods."

Eric Bolling, who hosts Fox Business' "Follow the Money," criticized Obama for inviting Gabon's president Ali Bongo at the White House this week, a month after the Fox News-fueled controversy over Common's invitation to perform at First Lady Michelle Obama's poetry event.

"So what's with all the hoods in the Hizzy?" Bolling asked on his show on Friday. "A month after the White House hosted the rapper Common, who glorifies violence on cops, the president opened his doors to one of Africa's most evil dictators."

"The Bongo family has extorted billions in oil money from his nation … meanwhile 1/3 of Gabon lives on $2 per day," Bolling wrote on Twitter. "And I'm a racist!"

I gather that "chugging 40s" refers to drinking strong liquor -- as in "40 proof". How is that a racist accusation? Or are the Left saying that only blacks drink spirits? I must be a black at that rate.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Left-Libertarian hate speech

The writer below is referring to a law that empowers police to arrest people suspected of being an illegal immigrant if they are stopped for another reason and requires businesses and schools to verify whether workers and students are in the country lawfully. It also makes it a crime to knowingly transport or shelter illegal immigrants.

"This past Thursday the Alabama legislature put on their white hoods and enacted the harshest anti-immigrant regime in the country, one even more tyrannical than Arizona’s ethnic-cleansing laws. ...

The old Jim Crow laws enforced discrimination based on the colour of a person’s skin; the new Jim Crow laws enforce discrimination on the basis of a person’s birth on the wrong side of an imaginary line."

The U.S. border is an imaginary line?? The writer is a philosophy professor -- a notoriously nutty trade. But this guy's trade seems to be wildly exaggerated abuse. He seems so full of hate that he has lost all reality contact.

He accompanied his screed with a picture of the KKK in action so he is clearly accusing the Alabama legislators as being of that ilk. I think I would be wary of a defamation lawsuit if I were he.

The caricature of him below is one he supplies himself. Does he look sane to you? Or does he have the staring eyes of a fanatic?

"This picture is a hoax. McDonald's isn't charging African Americans an extra $1.50 "as an insurance measure due in part to a recent string of robberies". But the image is all the rage on Twitter and has forced McDonald's to go into damage control to protect its online reputation.

The picture, which has since been removed from Twitter, displayed the offensive sign taped to a window outside what appeared to be a McDonald's restaurant. The sign included an 800-number that connected callers to the customer satisfaction hotline of rival KFC, which is owned by Yum! Brands.

People tweeted and retweeted the photo, using the words "Seriously McDonalds" to express their disappointment with the fast-food chain.

On its official Twitter account, McDonald's said: "That pic is a senseless & ignorant hoax McD's values ALL our customers. Diversity runs deep in our culture on both sides of the counter."

Despite the official denials, the hoax gained momentum over the weekend as #SeriouslyMcDonalds ranked on Twitter's Trends list.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Hate speech banner?

The article excerpted below was headed with the accusation that the banner illustrated above is "hate speech", even though the banner said nothing about homosexuals at all. Apparently you are not allowed just to warn people about homosexual behavior; you have to hate homosexuals.

I certainly don't hate homosexuals. They're not important enough to me for that. Perhaps it makes them feel better to think that people hate them -- when in actuality, most people just find them disgusting and prefer to limit contact with them.

When they have a Mardi Gras parade or other celebration homosexuals often behave in a very "flamboyant" way that some find obnoxious and that parents might not want their children to see. So it is perfectly reasonable for the Florida Family Association to warn others of probable ostentatious homosexuality, without the Association members needing to "hate" homosexuals at the same time.

Homosexuals would get a lot more of the acceptance that they apparently crave if they did not go out of their way to offend normal people and seek to silence criticism of themselves

At Gay Days in Orlando a plane flew a message over the Disney World theme park region with a ‘warning’ from the Florida Family Association.

The message flown over on Friday and Saturday, which was paid for and funded by donations, read “Warning Gay Day at Disney...” and the date.

Yes, this is what the organization would want us to think - that their message was a warning meant to direct parents out of the park. Is this another example of anti-gay, zealout pro-creationists trying to eliminate the LGBTIQ community from being able to use public-geared facilities?

The group claims it does not like Disney's allowance of the gay community using the park during normal operating hours

"Take a look at this ad. Do you think it’s too steamy for a billboard?

Some people in the California town of Auburn think so. The billboard, promoting a tanning salon company, went up Tuesday. By Thursday, it was vandalized when someone covered it with a black tarp and spray painted the words “no porn in our town” on it:

“There is nothing pornographic about the image at all. It shows a beautiful tan on a confident women. It’s a very classy image,” Jeremy McCain, media director for California Sun, the company behind the advertisement, told the Sacramento Bee.

Monday, June 13, 2011

"The hyperbolic (at best) rhetoric from Debbie Wasserman Schultz on the all-black network, TV One perfectly highlights the Twilight Zone world those on the Left live in.

First, does Wasserman and others on the Left really believe--I mean literally believe that Republicans want to legislate segregation? Really? If so, I'll let you marinate in your fantasy world and pray that you get some help.

Second, if there is any attempt to segregate, it is being championed and exercised on a daily basis by those on the Left, by blacks, and by Hispanics themselves. I've written before about the segregated black and brown graduation ceremonies around our country. What about segregated black television (BET)? How about the segregation done within the Congressional Black Caucus? What about the segregation within the Congressional Hispanic Caucus? These two caususes do not allow anyone with "white" skin pigment to join regardless of whether they serve a black or brown majority district. Note too how both of the racially-segregated caucuses are leftist-only/Democrat organizations.

The list of instances where blacks and Hispanics self-segregate has no end; and those who practice self-segregation have no shame, and there is no pressure for them to ever apologize, and there is nothing under the sun that can justify their Jim Crow-like behavior. Name one program, television channel, caucus, graduation ceremony, church, etc. in the country where whites have segregated themselves and apply the "white" label to their organization? Where's WET (White Entertainment Television)? The White Church? The White graduation? The Congressional White Caucus? They don't exist because it would rightfully be deemed racist and unworthy of our progressive/inclusive society!

That said, why and how do liberal Democrats point their fingers at Republicans (a racially diverse party) and say they want to literally segregate (i.e., Jim Crow) America when those same Democrats, blacks, and Hispanics are willfully doing it on a daily basis? Projection? Yep. Hypocrites? Fo sho.

"Russell Crowe has apologised for his Twitter tirade against circumcision when he called the practice "barbaric and stupid."

"Circumcision is barbaric and stupid. Who are you to correct nature? Is it real that GOD requires a donation of foreskin? Babies are perfect," Crowe wrote on Thursday, questioning the Old Testament mandate for the practice on Jewish males.

Crowe's comments were part of an online conversation with his friend, Inglourious Basterds actor Eli Roth - who is Jewish - but the statement quickly ignited a firestorm, with media outlets reporting the comments as possibly anti-Semitic.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Hate speech about Sarah Palin

If someone said this about Obama or any other Leftist the media would go crazy, but since it was aimed at Sarah Palin, most media will not care

"A caption in a photo slideshow of “Celebrity Look-a-likes” sparked outrage among at least three New Zealand conservatives Friday night. The Yahoo! New Zealand feature contained a split-screen of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and comic actress Tina Fey, with a caption that read “Poor Tina – there’s something painful about resembling someone so evil.”

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Marine Told She Can’t Wear Uniform to Her High School Graduation‏

We read:

"Lindsay Starr graduated early, joined the Marines, headed off to spend three months at boot camp and now all she’s asking for is a chance to wear her Marine dress blues to her high school graduation ceremony. Her high school’s answer? Absolutely not.

North Allegheny High School, located in Wexford, Pennsylvania, has a strict graduation policy under which all students must wear school colors and a cap and gown if they plan to walk across the stage to claim their diplomas. Despite efforts to change officials’ minds, Starr has been told that there is absolutely no chance the district will budge.

In response to the controversy, the school issued a statement that said, “We just don’t do it. The required dress is cap and gown"

The school should feel honored to have a marine among their graduands. They are falling back on the rule book just to hide their bigotry. The Left-dominated educational system has an oft-demonstrated hatred of the military. Witness the many attempts to keep the ROTC out of colleges.

"A North Putnam Middle School special education teacher resigned Tuesday after public outrage that stemmed from posts to her Facebook page.

Amber Russell posted, "I love dumb people...I call it job security," among other things, which sparked controversy among parents of students at the school.

"I apologize to the parents and children who have been hurt by the Facebook comments," Superintendent Mary Sugg Lovejoy wrote in a statement. "We will work hard to restore the trust and confidence of our parents and community."

Friday, June 10, 2011

Outrage at British Labour MP's suggestion that most immigrants work harvesting crops

Agricultural laboring IS a major source of work for immigrants to Britain but you are not supposed to mention that, apparently

"Glenda Jackson was plunged into a race row last night after she suggested migrants were engaged in ‘picking strawberries’ and ‘digging up potatoes’.

Labour leader Ed Miliband faced calls to discipline the MP for Hampstead and Kilburn in north London after her comments were condemned as ‘incredibly ignorant’.

The extraordinary statement by the Oscar-winning actress came in a clash with Chris Grayling, the Work and Pensions minister. He had said many migrants had snapped up UK jobs because millions of Britons were on benefits.

But Miss Jackson pounced on his remarks, insisting the comparison was flawed. She told Mr Grayling, in front of the Work and Pensions Committee: ‘You put all those people into that box and as far as the people out there are concerned, migrant workers do something like picking strawberries, digging up potatoes. ‘It’s temporary and they tend to be students.’

A startled-looking Mr Grayling said he disagreed and told her to look across society, where she would see migrant workers engaged in a wide variety of jobs.

"Comedian Titus tells jokes for a living. And in general, they’re supposed to be funny. But is it comedy to joke about killing a possible future president? That’s exactly what he did yesterday when he quipped about hanging out on the “grassy knoll” if Palin is elected in 2012.

“You know what man?” Titus said on “The Adam Carolla Show” podcast. “I am going to literally — if she gets elected president, I am going to hang out on the grassy knoll all the time, just loaded and ready — because you know what? It’s for my country. It’s for my country. If I got to sacrifice myself, it’s for my country.”

I personally don't think we can really criticise the Mennonites for this. They have a First Amedment right to practice their religion and their religion is a lot closer to the Sermon on the Mount than orthodox Christianity is.

Student wins right to wear nose stud in class after arguing ban violated her religious rights as member of Church of Body Modification

But Christian prayer can be forbidden of course

A high school student has won the right to wear a nose stud in class after claiming she was a member of a religious group that practices body modification.

Ariana Iacono, 15, was suspended four times this school year from Clayton High School, North Carolina, for violating the dress code by refusing to remove her small nose stud. The ninth grade student claimed the nose stud was an essential part of her faith in the Church of Body Modification.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the school system on her behalf and a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order in October demanding that the school lifted her suspension and allowed her to wear the jewellery.

Officials with the Johnston County Schools said they would drop their appeal of the order, and would settle it out of court 'rather than pursue a lengthy process of hearings, depositions and likely appeals'.

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Westboro church demonstrates outside NBA finals

We read:

"Members of the Westboro Baptist Church showed up outside game three of the NBA finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat Sunday to protest the league’s stance on anti-gay slurs used by players.

'Now David Stern, the tyrant commissioner of the NBA is jamming a message down the throat of America that not only is it okay to be gay but you don’t even want to use the word gay in a negative connotation,' protester Steve Drain told KDAF-TV."

"A New Mexico man lashed out at his ex-girlfriend by spending $1,300 on a highway billboard with the text: 'This Would Have Been A Picture Of My 2-Month Old Baby If The Mother Had Decided To Not KILL Our Child!'

The billboard shows a picture of Greg A. Fultz, 35, holding the outline of an infant.

The controversial billboard has touched off a court battle over free speech and privacy rights, especially when it comes to the hot-button issue of abortion.

Mr Fultz's ex-girlfriend, Nani Lawrence, took him to court for harassment and violation of privacy. Domestic court hearing commissioner Darrell Brantley recommended the billboard be removed by June 16.

But Mr Fultz's attorney argues the order violates his client's free speech rights.

Ms Lawrence's friends say she had a miscarriage, not an abortion.

Mr Fultz told KOAT-7 he doesn't know how the child died. He said: 'But if it was abortion, then my purpose is to try to prevent this from happening to someone else'.

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Another TSA crime: Word disfiguration

We read:

"We must go through porno scanners and be groped because of a single attempted underwear bomb that failed. These were the thoughts passing through my mind as I gathered up my belongings in Orlando, sans my daughter’s buffalo, when I spotted a stand with a stack of TSA Customer Comment Cards that cheerfully stated that the agency wants you to 'Help us improve our customer service by completing and returning this card to a TSA drop box, to a TSA supervisor or by mail.'

CUSTOMER! This is a complete disfiguration of the word customer, which, as Orwell taught, is a grave crime when put to the service of state power."

Krakouer is a brown-skinned guy of partly indigenous origin and Majak Daw is a very black African (below)

Rogue fans racially taunting footballers have soured the weekend's AFL and VFL matches. Collingwood president Eddie McGuire blew up in the second quarter last night after hearing a St Kilda fan's slurs at Collingwood's Andrew Krakouer.

Monday, June 06, 2011

Arab double talk

There are Arab members in the Israeli parliament. Below one of them says what she stands for

Knesset Member Haneen Zouabi of the Balad party is open about her role being fundamentally oppositional. "I was elected to speak for those who voted for me, not to reinforce the Zionist consensus," she says. "My role is to represent injustice and to make it more visible."

Zouabi has long argued against the legitimacy of a Jewish state for allowing "institutionalised discrimination", instead favouring "a bi-national state not based on ethnicity".

And where in the Arab world do we find ""a bi-national state not based on ethnicity"? There is none. There is NOWHERE in the Muslim world where the rights of Jews are "not based on ethnicity". They are universally second-class citizens -- where they have not been chased out altogether. If Arabs walked the walk we might believe them when they talk the talk

The state's Senate just passed a bill that would make it illegal to teach about homosexuality in public schools from kindergarten through eighth grade. No gay marriage chatter. No gay rights banter. No gay gayness of any gay sort.

Dubbed the "Don't Say 'Gay' Bill" by opponents, the measure insists that any instruction or materials provided to students on the subject of sexuality must be "limited exclusively to natural reproductive science." Teachers who violate the rule could be fined up to $50 and sentenced to as many as 30 days behind bars.

Supporters say the bill allows parents, rather than teachers, to decide when and what (and, er, if?) their children learn about homosexuality.

Apart from being profoundly silly, the measure also is utterly unnecessary. "Gay lessons" aren't part of any grade-school or middle-school curriculum. Third-graders don't analyze the gender identity of "Judy Moody." Seventh-graders don't delve into the homoerotic subtext of Huck Finn, although maybe they should. If the subject comes up, though (I'm looking at you, Oscar Wilde), shouldn't it be addressed?

If this bill is approved when the House finally votes on it next year, Tennessee would be the first state to have such a law.

The worst thing about this bill is that it's dangerous. Outlawing the discussion of any subject sends a clear message that the subject is unacceptable and doesn't belong at school. Questioning your sexuality? Don't bring that burden to class. Have two moms at home? Keep it to yourself, kids.

What is queer about the above effusion is its dishonesty. There is NO CHANCE of homosexual indoctrination in the schools? That is denying reality. Such indoctrination is even compulsory in California

And why shouldn't it be that "the subject is unacceptable and doesn't belong at school"? Maybe if the schools made a good job of teaching literacy and numeracy, there might be room to discuss the problems of a small minority.

And since when was school designed for therapy? Don't we have psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors and clergy to deal with personal problems?

Sunday, June 05, 2011

On pain of imprisonment! Atheism is compulsory, apparently. The judge is a Clinton appointee.

A federal judge has ordered a Texas school district to prohibit public prayer at a high school graduation ceremony.

Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery’s order against the Medina Valley Independent School District also forbids students from using specific religious words including “prayer” and “amen.”

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by Christa and Danny Schultz. Their son is among those scheduled to participate in Saturday’s graduation ceremony. The judge declared that the Schultz family and their son would “suffer irreparable harm” if anyone prayed at the ceremony. [What proof is there of that improbable assertion?]

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the school district is in the process of appealing the ruling, and his office has agreed to file a brief in their support.

“I’ve never seen such a restriction on speech issued by a court or the government,” Abbott told Fox News Radio. “It seems like a trampling of the First Amendment rather than protecting the First Amendment.”

Judge Biery’s ruling banned students and other speakers from using religious language in their speeches. Among the banned words or phrases are: “join in prayer,” “bow their heads,” “amen,” and “prayer.”

Should a student violate the order, school district officials could find themselves in legal trouble. Judge Biery ordered that his ruling be “enforced by incarceration or other sanctions for contempt of Court if not obeyed by District official (sic) and their agents.”

The Texas attorney general called the ruling unconstitutional and a blatant attack from those who do not believe in God -- “attempts by atheists and agnostics to use courts to eliminate from the public landscape any and all references to God whatsoever.”

"A local news anchor who made international headlines with a racist description of a Chinese man has apologised "unreservedly" for his remarks.

On Paul Murray's Sky News show last night, news anchor John Mangos reported on a Chinese lottery winner who wore a mask to remain anonymous while collecting his prize.

After the story, he said: "I don't know why he bothered. I mean, I can tell you now — he's Chinese. "He's got straight black hair and he's got squinty eyes and yellow skin."

Mangos today apologised "unreservedly" for the comment. "The remarks were meant to be light-hearted and under the pressure of live TV my words were poorly chosen. In hindsight I can see they could offend and I apologise unreservedly for what I said.

People are genuinely less able to differentiate members of other ethnic groups. A quite serious problem arises in crime reports where eyewitness identification is often important. Apparently American whites are not very good at telling blacks apart and that has resulted in innocent blacks being identified and imprisoned, only to be later exonerated by DNA tests. There have been several such cases reported on Strange Justice

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Must not dislike a man who poses as a female model

We read:

"It ranked him ahead of Lady Gaga and former Victoria's Secret model Izabel Goular in its annual 100 Sexiest Women in the World list, but lads' magazine FHM has been forced to apologise to Australia's femiman Andrej Pejic after referring to the male model as a "thing" online.

Pejic, the Broadmeadows boy in hot demand on international catwalks for his delicate looks, was voted for inclusion on the list by the magazine's US readers, The Guardian has reported.

But in his online profile, posted on FHM's website last month, the 19-year-old was unkindly referred to as a "blonde gender bender", a "professional cross-dresser" and a "thing".

"Although his sexual identity is ambiguous, designers are hailing him as the next big thing," the author wrote under the heading "Why we love Andrej Pejic". "We think 'thing' is quite accurate...Pass the sick bucket."

"A harassment charge has been dropped in the case of a 35-year-old Colorado man who faced prosecution for displaying his middle finger to a Colorado State Patrol trooper. The State Patrol said in a statement late Friday that it asked that the case be dropped.

The American Civil Liberties Union had argued that while the gesture may be have been rude, it amounted to protected free speech."

Friday, June 03, 2011

"A New York street vendor has been arrested once again for selling condoms in wrappers bearing the image of President Barack Obama.

Jose Andujar, 43, was arrested on Friday in Times Square for selling his "Obama" condoms. It was his third arrest in a year for unlicensed peddling, police said, reported the New York Post.

The arrest came despite a State Supreme Court justice ruling that Andujar's condoms are protected by the Constitution's guarantee of free speech. The decision said the condom wrappers should be treated like books, which do not require a vending license.

The city vowed to continue to bust Andujar, pending the outcome of an appeal.

From the parliament of the Australian State of New South Wales. (In Westminster parliaments, the whip is the man in charge of making sure that party members turn up for important votes).

"The state government's whip in the upper house, Peter Phelps, has been accused of likening scientists to Nazis in a speech to Parliament.

In an address attacking global warming, Dr Phelps said it should not be forgotten that "some of the strongest supporters of totalitarian regimes in the last century have been scientists". "We should not be so surprised that the contemporary science debate has become so debased," Dr Phelps said. "At the heart of many scientists - but not all scientists - lies the heart of a totalitarian planner."

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Dr Phelps quoted an unidentified writer whom he described as "speaking about the rise of Nazism" and its similarity to "scientists agitating for a scientific organisation of society".

Dr Phelps then went on to say: "One can see them now, beavering away, alone, unknown, in their laboratories. "Now, through the great global warming swindle, they can influence policy, they can set agendas, they can reach into everyone's lives; they can, like Lenin, proclaim what must be done."

Dr Phelps last night denied he was likening scientists to Nazis. "This is not an issue of Nazism or Communism but an unhealthy relationship between scientists and governments that can lead to totalitarianism," Dr Phelps said.

Legs can be pretty obscene, you know. In the 19th century even a woman's ankle was seen as a bit daring. Are we still that dumb? Since when did cheerleaders NOT show a lot of leg?

School officials at a California high school are pressuring the yearbook editor to reprint a page that describes the cheerleading squad as showing "more leg than Daisy Duke" and includes digitally edited images of the girls' legs, News 10 reports.

Members of the cheerleading team at River City High School reportedly were outraged after reading an article titled "Who Wears Short Shorts" in the school's new yearbook -- 400 copies of which were picked up by students on Friday.

The article described the cheerleaders as "dolled up in micromini(sic) uniforms" while "strolling down halls" with "blatant disregard" for the "school dress code," according to the station.

It also reportedly showed pictures of the cheerleaders' skirts while they were doing a jump exercise.

Now school officials are suspending pickups of the yearbook until its student editor rewrites a replacement page.

A vice principal at the school told the station that the article didn't amount to libel under current law, and all school officials could do was encourage the editor to "make the right decision."

Under a court case from the 1980's -- referred to as "Hazelwood" -- officials were forced to leave the final editorial decisions to the students, according to the station.

The 16-year-old author of the article reportedly apologized for the piece, saying, "I made an editorial mistake and I apologize for any pain that I may have caused... We [the yearbook staff] are currently taking steps to make amends."

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

White shirts are racist?

There's a lot of racism in my wardrobe in that case

Calif. – Students banned from a Central Coast school for wearing a white t-shirt. On Wednesday, Soquel High School suspended at least two students. The students say it’s because of allegations, they’re part of a white supremacist group.

"When NBC “Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich whether he infused racism into a recent speech by referring to President Barack Obama as “the most successful food stamp president in American history,” Gregory raised a line of attack that had only previously been used by MSNBC and other left-leaning outlets, much to the chagrin of many conservative critics.

And one of those critics was former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. On Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” on Wednesday, Palin offered her views on Gregory’s question. Her assessment: Gregory is the one displaying racism.

“Well, talk about racism – that was a racist-tinged question from David Gregory,” Palin declared. “He made it sound like that if you’re black you’re on food stamps and the president is referring to you being on food stamps. I think that’s racist. And you know, enough is enough of this calling out, this racism, these false charges.

Is the American national anthem politically incorrect? From the 4th verse:Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

Mohammad

The truth can be offensive to some but it must be said

"HATE SPEECH" is free speech: The U.S. Supreme Court stated the general rule regarding protected speech in Texas v. Johnson (109 S.Ct. at 2544), when it held: "The government may not prohibit the verbal or nonverbal expression of an idea merely because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable." Federal courts have consistently followed this. Said Virginia federal district judge Claude Hilton: "The First Amendment does not recognize exceptions for bigotry, racism, and religious intolerance or ideas or matters some may deem trivial, vulgar or profane."

Even some advocacy of violence is protected by the 1st Amendment. In Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that speech advocating violent illegal actions to bring about social change is protected by the First Amendment "except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action."

The double standard: Atheists can put up signs and billboards saying that Christianity is wrong and that is hunky dory. But if a Christian says that homosexuality is wrong, that is attacked as "hate speech"

One for the militant atheists to consider: "...it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg" -- Thomas Jefferson

"I think no subject should be off-limits, and I regard the laws in many Continental countries criminalizing Holocaust denial as philosophically repugnant and practically useless – in that they confirm to Jew-haters that the Jews control everything (otherwise why aren’t we allowed to talk about it?)" -- Mark Steyn

Voltaire's most famous saying was actually a summary of Voltaire's thinking by one of his biographers rather than something Voltaire said himself. Nonetheless it is a wholly admirable sentiment: "I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it". I am of a similar mind.

The traditional advice about derogatory speech: "Sticks and stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you". Apparently people today are not as emotionally robust as their ancestors were.

Why conservatives should not respond to Leftist abuse: "Never wrestle with a pig, because you'll both just get dirty, and the pig likes it.”

The KKK were members of the DEMOCRATIC party. Google "Klanbake" if you doubt it

A phobia is an irrational fear, so the terms "Islamophobic" and "homophobic" embody a claim that the people so described are mentally ill. There is no evidence for either claim. Both terms are simply abuse masquerading as diagnoses and suggest that the person using them is engaged in propaganda rather than in any form of rational or objective discourse.

Leftists often pretend that any mention of race is "racist" -- unless they mention it, of course. But leaving such irrational propaganda aside, which statements really are racist? Can statements of fact about race be "racist"? Such statements are simply either true or false. The most sweeping possible definition of racism is that a racist statement is a statement that includes a negative value judgment of some race. Absent that, a statement is not racist, for all that Leftists might howl that it is. Facts cannot be racist so nor is the simple statement of them racist. Here is a statement that cannot therefore be racist by itself, though it could be false: "Blacks are on average much less intelligent than whites". If it is false and someone utters it, he could simply be mistaken or misinformed.

Categorization is a basic human survival skill so racism as the Left define it (i.e. any awareness of race) is in fact neither right nor wrong. It is simply human

Whatever your definition of racism, however, a statement that simply mentions race is not thereby racist -- though one would think otherwise from American Presidential election campaigns. Is a statement that mentions dogs, "doggist" or a statement that mentions cats, "cattist"?

If any mention of racial differences is racist then all Leftists are racist too -- as "affirmative action" is an explicit reference to racial differences

Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? "You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word, we suffer on each side. If this be admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated. It is better for both, therefore, to be separated." -- Spoken at the White House to a group of black community leaders, August 14th, 1862

Gimlet-eyed Leftist haters sometimes pounce on the word "white" as racist. Will the time come when we have to refer to the White House as the "Full spectrum of light" House?

The spirit of liberty is "the spirit which is not too sure that it is right." and "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it. While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it." -- Judge Learned Hand

Mostly, a gaffe is just truth slipping out

Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them is the only freedom they believe in)

First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean

It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.

It seems a pity that the wisdom of the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus is now little known. Remember, wrote the Stoic thinker, "that foul words or blows in themselves are no outrage, but your judgment that they are so. So when any one makes you angry, know that it is your own thought that has angered you. Wherefore make it your endeavour not to let your impressions carry you away."

"Since therefore the knowledge and survey of vice is in this world so necessary to the constituting of human virtue, and the scanning of error to the confirmation of truth, how can we more safely, and with less danger, scout into the regions of sin and falsity than by reading all manner of tractates, and hearing all manner of reason?" -- English poet John Milton (1608-1674) in Areopagitica

Leftists can try to get you fired from your job over something that you said and that's not an attack on free speech. But if you just criticize something that they say, then that IS an attack on free speech

The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) could have been speaking of much that goes on today when he said: "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

I despair of the ADL. Jews have enough problems already and yet in the ADL one has a prominent Jewish organization that does its best to make itself offensive to Christians. Their Leftism is more important to them than the welfare of Jewry -- which is the exact opposite of what they ostensibly stand for! Jewish cleverness seems to vanish when politics are involved. Fortunately, Christians are true to their saviour and have loving hearts. Jewish dissatisfaction with the myopia of the ADL is outlined here. Note that Foxy was too grand to reply to it.

There are also two blogspot blogs which record what I think are my main recent articles here and here. Similar content can be more conveniently accessed via my subject-indexed list of short articles here or here (I rarely write long articles these days)

NOTE: The archives provided by blogspot below are rather inconvenient. They break each month up into small bits. If you want to scan whole months at a time, the backup archives will suit better. See here or here